February 2008
New York, February 11, 2008 -- The TIAA-CREF Institute is pleased to announce Baruch College, City University of New York as winner of the 2008 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award. This award recognizes innovative faculty development programs that enhance undergraduate teaching and learning. Herb Allison, TIAA-CREF Chairman and CEO, will present the award on February 11, 2008 at the American Council on Education’s annual meeting in San Diego, CA. The College is lauded for its Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, led by Mikhail Gershovich.
“The Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute, within Baruch College, works with faculty to develop and teach communication-intensive courses, said Madeleine d’Ambrosio, Executive Director of the TIAA-CREF Institute. “Baruch recognizes the essential role of effective teaching in ensuring that our nation’s colleges and universities remain the global gold standard for excellence in higher education.”
Established in 1993, the TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award is named in honor of Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, nationally renowned educator and world humanitarian. Father Hesburgh also served on the TIAA and CREF Boards of Overseers for twenty-eight years.
“TIAA-CREF has a long-standing commitment to the higher education community, and we take pride in helping to advance the academy’s goals, whether in teaching, research or service,” added d’Ambrosio
The Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute at Baruch College serves as both a think tank and an academic service unit. It is dedicated to helping Baruch faculty ensure that students are able to communicate effectively in both academic and professional contexts.
The Schwartz Institute collaborates with faculty members to infuse communication-intensive activities into the curriculum. It has taken a leading role in the use of weblogs to improve student writing at Baruch, and its blog serves as a forum for Schwartz Fellows to interact with other instructors to exchange teaching ideas and best practices.
The Institute’s annual Symposium on Communication and Communication-Intensive Instruction brings together leading business professionals and educators from around the country to engage in intimate and productive discussion of communication-related questions and problems.
Certificate of Excellence
Montclair State University was selected to receive a TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Certificate of Excellence for its Service-Learning Fellows Program, which trains and prepares faculty to apply their teaching and scholarship to pressing social issues in partnerships with neighboring communities. The program awards up to six fellowships annually. Fellows are required to attend training workshops, then develop and teach a minimum of one service-learning course.
About the TIAA-CREF Institute
The mission of the TIAA-CREF Institute, part of TIAA-CREF, is to foster objective research, build knowledge, support thought leadership, and enhance understanding of strategic issues related to higher education and lifelong financial security. For additional information, please visit www.tiaa-crefinstitute.org.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Compton
TIAA-CREF
1 202 637-8938
jcompton@tiaa-cref.org
